Monday, May 12, 2014

The Government looks set to empty state houses in New Zealand's provinces by selling off 5000 properties across the country.

Housing New Zealand did not intend to announce plans for the big sell-off, but Labour uncovered it with an Official Information Act request.

[...]

But it's not just Tither St that's up for grabs. There are thousands of similar places all over provincial New Zealand – places originally built by the Government for local workers and now being sold off to private enterprise.

Housing New Zealand looks like it will sell large chunks of its housing stock everywhere, in areas like Palmerston North, Hastings, North Waikato and Invercargill.

I really don't understand the logic here. Its one thing to adapt local supply to demand, but this seems to go well beyond that into a wholesale withdrawal from provincial centres. Does Housing New Zealand actually think that poor people only live in South Auckland, or is the government engaged in social cleansing?